It will be April soon

We bumped into one of the Photo Club Members during the Casa Grande Art Associations annual “Studio Tour” and he asked if I was interested in going on a Jeep ride out to an old abandoned mine. I was in like a flash and had a great time. Thanks Darren.

Every year the winter suddenly ends when we realize it's going to be a couple of weeks until we move on again. This winter is no exception and the “3 weeks to go” panic is upon us!

The big project has been to get our “New to Us” car (a Mazda MX-5 which everyone in the US calls a Miata even though Mazda has dropped that name).

New to us Mazda MX-5

When you want to tow a car “Flat” or “4 down” you have to make some modifications to it. Flat or 4 down means that it sits on it's own 2 wheels and you pull it behind your motorhome. You have to ensure that it can be towed that way, FMCA publish a list of what vehicles can be towed by model year, and under what conditions. Some need the battery disconnected. Others have to be towed on a “dolly”. Some can only be towed if they are completely off the road on a trailer. 

See previous post 

https://banbrv.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-little-flat-green-thing-in-road.html

The particular model of MX-5 we have is supposed to be one that CANNOT be flat towed per Mazda. I have however been talking with a gentleman who has been towing his for 6 years and 50,000 miles without any damage, and he knows several other people who also tow them.

This of course is AT OUR OWN RISK. If we break it we will have to pay to fix it. This may see crazy but there are several other vehicles listed as not towable by the manufacturer but actually can be. Stick shift Mini's come to mind, and we've met several people who have towed them many 10's of thousand miles without problems.

So I'm taking a chance.

We bought a used tow bar for the motorhome last winter in Alabama and it came with the majority of the parts needed for the car too. I was almost going to tell the seller to keep the car side of it as it was a different make than we had on the Fiesta, but she didn't want it and I threw it in the storage area and forgot about it.

The first thing we needed was some way of attaching the car to the tow bar on the motorhome.

The Fiesta was fitted with a Blue Ox system, which is quick, light, easy to use and secure.

There are a few manufacturers of towing systems, the biggest I think being Blue Ox and Roadmaster. The motorhome originally came with a Roadmaster towbar and the company who set the Fiesta up changed out the end fittings to Blue Ox ones to suit the car. We've been very happy with the Blue Ox setup.

We found that only Roadmaster sold a tow bracket for this model MX-5, which unfortunately we couldn't get Blue Ox adapters for, so we were stuck with the somewhat clunky Roadmaster connectors.

I ordered the bracket and a wiring adapter kit from Etrailer.com and they shipped them free and FAST!

I considered trying to fit it myself as the only mechanical change was drilling out 4 existing holes to 1/2” diameter. The problems were that the campground doesn't allow car repairs on site, and the work requires removing and replacing the whole nose of the car to get at the area the bracket mounts to.

I decided to leave the work to Whitaker Auto around the corner from the park, who did great work on the motorhome this winter.

The parts I bought from Etrailer where just the parts on the car. Roadmaster's system requires a series of plates, bars and pins on the outside of the car to provide the link to the tow bar on the motorhome. We were so lucky, the parts we bought in Alabama and didn't want back then fitted right on the MX-5. All we needed was a pin that cost $20.

Modern cars are full of computers. Those computers can be damaged by stray voltages and connecting directly to the existing brake, turn and running lights creates those stray voltages. The answer is and electrical device called a diode which lets electricity flow in 1 direction only. The wiring kit came with special diode setups which allow the brake lights on the car to function as both brake and turn signal lights and the running lights to come on with the motorhome lights when towed. When not plugged in to the motorhome they function as designed.

That basically is the whole setup.

Now knowledgeable RV'ers will yell “Foul! You need a braking system for the car”.

There is a problem. The law requires trailers over a set weight to be equipped with a braking system with a “Break away” feature to stop the trailer in case it gets detached from the tow vehicle. A car isn't a trailer. If you tow a car behind another car, you aren't obliged to link the braking system of the 2 vehicles. That's the problem, and there is a LOT of discussion about it. We fitted the Fiesta with such a system at great cost. 

In Canada a couple of years ago (thru my own fault), I towed the car with the brakes partially on and did $4000 damage. 

https://banbrv.blogspot.com/2016/08/prince-edward-island-and-car-trouble.html

We've never used it since and never found a need for it.

So, I decided not to fit the brake system at this time.

Scott and Suzanne who we've known since our first Escapees Rally and just before we all went full time, sent us a message that they were going to be near Phoenix on their way west. A few phone calls and we were all sitting around in the Elks Lodge followed by dinner out. It was so good hearing about their adventures and sharing ours.

Somehow the Art scene has burst wide open in the final 2 weeks here. Tuesdays is the Inter Community Art and Craft group, Wednesday is Life Drawing, Thursday the Sundance RV art group, now I have discovered a “Plein Air” painting group who go to different venues on Saturdays and paints outdoors! The rest of the week I have to draw and paint on my own!

Picacho Peak

Across the valley

All this bodes well for next year as I should be able to pick up where I left off and get stuck straight in.

Works in Progress!!

More Casa Grande fun.

We arrived safely back and were re leaved to find that out outdoor chairs and the big mats were still there. We were laughing about how good it was to be “Home” after being away “Camping” for the weekend.

We started to hear people talking about leaving next week and realized that February is nearly over. The Snowbirds are getting ready to migrate back north. March 1st was when we left here 2 years ago too. Most Snowbirds will be gone by April 1^st when we leave.

Why April 1? We want to see some Spring Training Baseball games!

For our UK readers Baseball is basically like rounders in UK. It's the National Pastime in the US. Winter is Football, Summer Baseball. The season starts in April but it's too cold in February and March in the Northern States for the teams get in the pre-season practice games so the teams have training camps in warmer climates like Florida and Arizona. Last year we went and watched the Baltimore Orioles play in Florida and now we're watching the San Diego Padres. It's good to have a couple of “Home Teams”.

The O' Odham Tash Rodeo is in town also. Named after the Native American tribe here, the rodeo has several events over the course of a week. There's and All Indian Rodeo, a Canadian Roping event as well as the regular rodeo which is a “Ranch Rodeo”. That mean the events are more focused on practical farm and ranch work rather than the Professional Rodeo that has bull riding etc,

We like these events and have been to several on our travels. I shot over 200 photographs in a couple of hours and there are several paintings burning in the back of my head.

My art side has been getting fed lately too. I joined the Casa Grande Art Association and found they have a live model open studio on Wednesday's. An open studio is an event where interested artists gather with their on drawing/painting equipment and a model comes in for about 2 hours. Each artist contributes about $5 to pay the model. The model starts out holding poses for 2 minutes, then changes to another pose for a further 2 minutes. After several 2 minute poses (During which you have to try and make a drawing of that pose), the time increases to 5 minutes, then 10 or 15 minutes and finally 30 or 30 minutes. Occasionally they have a “Long pose night” in which the model holds the pose for perhaps 45 minutes.

No instruction is given in these sessions, you are on your own.

Each set of poses let the artist warm up with quick gestural drawings and then gradually move on to more detailed drawings and/or paintings.

I love the challenge of the quick poses and my figure drawings have improved enormously. My previous portrait classes in San Diego helped too.

Tuesday morning is the Inter Community Art and Crafts Association meeting where all kinds of art and crafts are done all at the same time. It's a very inspiring atmosphere. I'm going to do a presentation on perspective for the group soon. Most beginning artists have trouble with perspective. I'm also giving a painting class at the “Adult Day Camp” the library is holding. That should be good.

Thursday is the Sundance 1 RV Resort zentangle and artists get together. They have one of the craft rooms for the whole day and again it's a very inspirational atmosphere with lots of good advice and encouragement.

We bumped into one of the Photo Club Members during the Casa Grande Art Associations annual “Studio Tour” and he asked if I was interested n going on a Jeep ride out to an old abandoned mine. I was in like a flash and had a great time. Thanks Darrel.

Lake Havasu City

Next thing will be to get the towing brackets fitted to it and the rear lights hooked up.

Unfortunately we couldn't take the Miata (MX 5) along on our next adventure, but I did order the equipment needed to tow it.

Our next adventure is to join our friends from the Shanty Shakers Chapter of the Escapees (SKP's) at their rally in Lake Havasu City Arizona. Camping courtesy of the Elks Lodge there.

Full hookups at the Elks Lodge

Our Shanty Shaker friends did it right again.

The reason for choosing Havasu?

Winterblast!!

http://www.gokingman.com/event-winter-blast-pyrotechnic-show-feb15-2018

They say this is the best fireworks show in the world for a reason. It's organized by a Pyrotechnics organization and they have the vendors who provide al the fireworks for professional shows displaying their latest products plus the “Amateurs” who set off huge fireworks in “Open Shoots” were they can happily launch their creations under safe controlled conditions.

The show goes on for at least 4 days and they have light and flame effects as well as ground and aerial fireworks.

You needed earplugs for this show it was LOUD and we were really close to the action. So much so that you felt the heat from the flame effects.

Not so well organized surprisingly was the Lions Club parking arrangements. One handicapped person was stuck behind a steel railing after following the crowd along and pathway that led nowhere. There were no signs at all for the handicapped access route and the teenagers manning the parking lot didn't have a clue.

Unfortunately my new diet took a severe dent after I fell off the wagon. All the great food and cheap booze at the Elks Lodge each night plus “Happy Hour” with the Shanty Shakers was too much temptation! I'll try and make up for it next week but I'm dreading weigh in on Wednesday.

Serious catching up being done

It was good to catch up with Lynn and Wayne, Bruce and Sue, Garth and Judy and the rest of the crew. Everyone is instantly at home around the campfire. Just like our original RV full time dreams.

Great company

We went for some exercise walking around the swap meet downtown and I managed to get a big book about painting in watercolors for $1. We bought our fruit and vegetables there too for half the price of the regular supermarket. An hour walking was penance for the 4 days of eating and drinking!!

Having said our goodbyes to everyone we set off back to Casa Grande and battled strong winds the whole way. In this desert environment the wind picks up the dust and throws it around. At one point it was like driving in a thick brown fog. Visibility was down to a couple of hundred yards and we drove warily thru it with our headlights on.

The brown clouds of dust going thru the campground

We arrived safely back and were re leaved to find that out outdoor chairs and the big mats were still there. We were laughing about how good it was to be “Home” after being away “Camping” for the weekend.

All the usual stuff

We don't enjoy be overweight so we need to make permanent lifestyle changes to avoid letting the weight creep back on like it has over the last 3 years.

Barbara has been showing her talents on stage. Somehow she got volunteered to be in a skit/show at Sundance where they reenacted several radio shows from the 1940's. Her role was as a mailman in an “I Love Lucy” show about mixed up valentines cards. She did good and somehow got roped into organizing the rehearsals too! The whole show was a hoot with a Philip Marlowe detective show and the finale was the Abbott and Costello “Who's on First” routine that was very well done.

We've been kept busy getting the last of the winter maintenance done on the RV and now the brakes and cooling system are operating as they should and they think they have fixed the charge light problem. Unfortunately it's taken several trips, the latest being to get the slide topper awning replaced only to find when we took it in that they had to special order one.

Flying my RC glider has been keeping me entertained. I happened to see an ad on Craigslist for another transmitter and receiver really cheap and it was a more advanced one than the one I already had so I jumped in. Made it much easier to adjust and to fly, I'm building another model but the old model shops have mainly gone away now so it's either drive 100 miles or mail order things so it takes longer to get the parts together.

The Fiesta law suit against Ford is apparently getting close to being settled. The “Mass Action Suit” people passed me off to a CA lawyer who are going for a CA Lemon Law settlement. Whether that will be better or not we'll find out. One way or another we should be rid of it soon, which could be a good thing as it started acting up with an intermittent starting problem.

We talked about our options and decided to buy a used car to replace the Fiesta while we're here in Casa Grande. Finding one we could tow, preferably without a tow dolly was a challenge. Most automatics can't be towed flat and Barbara doesn't like stick shifts. As I do most of the driving I jumped in with both feet and bought a Mazda Miata sports car! Can't be a midlife crisis, I'm too old for that. At least it's not red!

Although Mazda say it can't be towed flat, and some friends knowledgeable about Miata's think it can't be, I found an RV forum where people were towing them with no problems. One gentleman had been towing his for 5 years.

Next thing will be to get the towing brackets fitted to it and the rear lights hooked up.

For a little diversion we hit an RV Show in Peoria which happened to be at the Sports complex where the Seattle Mariner and San Diego Padres have their spring training.  So Baseball here we come.

Surprise again

I can do the Generator service, engine oil change and chassis lube myself.

I was sitting outside the rig in the sun fiddling with something or other and a strange car rolled up. I glanced up and a familiar Australian voice said “How's it going Mate?” and there were our 2 Aussie friends from Florida last year!

We had surprised the heck out of them in Las Vegas a couple of months ago and they had decided to turn the tables on us.

What a great surprise! Before long we were catching up on the news, dragging them along on a tour of thee park, introducing them to the darts evening (Which they seemed to take too like ducks to water!) and piling in the car to go out to dinner at Olive Garden.

I don't think Barbara and I stopped grinning for days, these kind of meetups are exactly what we wanted from a fulltiming experience. We are so lucky to be able to do this and to have met such amazing people.

Dinner out has had us working hard to stay on our diet. Yes we decided to lose weight again and the park has a Weight Watchers group so in we jumped.

The “Freestyling” plan seems to suit us as we can plan ahead for a “Splurge” and eat meals with low point the rest of the day and use more for dinner. There are also “Roll over points” when you don't use all your points one day. They can be applied to the following days for a glass of wine or something similar as a treat. So far I've lost about 15 lbs and Barb around 6.

We don't enjoy be overweight so we need to make permanent lifestyle changes to avoid letting the weight creep back on like it has over the last 3 years.

A lighter wallet wasn't part of our plan but after the brake calipers and rotors were replaced the brakes were still spongy. Turns out the brake booster (Servo in UK) was leaking too, so another day in the shop, which turned into a long day after the wrong part was delivered to them. They have fixed the charge light problem and done an oil and filter change on the engine too so that's more off the list.

Next week we get the slide topper awning replaced. I'm gathering the parts for the Generator service too. 

To fill in time I've been building another RC model airplane!

Arizona for the winter.

My sea legs had come back and fortunately I felt fine the whole way, but I did stay out of the theater and other dark confined spaces where I was more likely to feel motion sickness.

A glorious sunset is almost guaranteed every evening

Once we got to Sundance 1 our “winter quarters” it felt like we'd come home. If you haven't guessed we really like this place, we've been here 3 out of the last 4 winters.

Sunbathing by the pool in January.

There is so much to do both in the park and locally. It's a little more remote than Leesburg was, although I did enjoy all the art events and societies there. I'll have to dig a little deeper to find some here.

The resort is, as usual, immaculately kept. It seems like every time you go out somebody is landscaping. Everyone waves and wishes you good morning or afternoon.

It's 2 years since we last wintered here but people are stopping by and welcoming us back. Our friends Paul and Karen were already here and invited us to join them at the Elks Lodge for the Friday fish dinner. We had a full table with Bill and Terry and some more new friends who's names escape me! (Getting old).

We soon got set up with our outside mats, chairs, grill etc and we pulled our bicycles off the rack to find one of Barbara's tires was rotted out. More stuff for the maintenance list!

That list has grown again, seems like every time I get it almost done it fills back up.

Currently we need.

RV

Engine oil change

Coolant hose replacement

Slide topper awning replacement (The wind ripped it traveling here)

Generator service

Front brake pads replacement

Chassis lube

Water heater anode replacement

Air filter clean

Mystery intermittent charge light coming on - fix

Fiesta

Alternator replacement??

Trike

Front tire replacement

Bike

Seat replacement

So apparently we're going to be busy!

To ensure we were REALLY busy we got back into the darts league (2 afternoons a week), we joined the shuffleboard league (3 mornings a week), Photo club (1 morning every 2 weeks), weight watchers (1 morning a week), and Barb signed up for a park stage show

Photo club assignment for the week was "Close Up"

In a fit of insanity I also decided that I needed to buy a Radio Controlled (RC) model airplane. I have been an airplane and model nut off and on all my life. Somewhere I saw an ad for one of the new technology gliders which are made mainly of expanded foam. No more weeks of building with balsa wood and glue, they come ready made in a box.

Even better they come just about complete, with a motor, servos, speed control. All you need to do is assemble about 10 parts and install a radio system (Not supplied).

Giant RC glider

What really surprised me was how cheap all this stuff is. Back in the 80's when I last played with RC, the radio equipment was expensive and there was no such thing as an electric powered model. Now the complete model was just over $100 delivered and the radio was $40!!

Pretty soon I was the proud owner of an RC glider.

I thought I read in the ad that the wingspan was 54”, which would be handy in the RV. Unfortunately the HUGE box that arrived contained a model that was 54” LONG but the wingspan (Width) was 2600 mm which for the Metric challenged comes to abut 8 FEET!

It was difficult getting the thing in and out of the door.

I assembled the thing, programmed the RC radio (Using the computer yet!) and set off for a big open field. And promptly crashed the model into that field!

My repair skills were then tested!

Side trip to "Old Tucson" movie studio

We had been talking of getting on a diet after the cruise, I was so fat I couldn't fasten the jeans I'd left in the RV for when I got back! Luckily the park has a weight watchers group and we signed up.

Weigh in was a shock as I weighed 262 lbs at weigh in.

We lead a different life style when we hole up for the winter. Instead of driving everywhere we ride our bikes, and we are much more active doing the things we like here, so we both lost weight the first week.

They have a “Freestyle” system now that is really easy to stick too and a phone app the will tell you the WW points of any item in the supermarket just by scanning the bar code on it. They even have “roll over points” so if you indulge once in a while you can plan for it and save points from previous days.

At the "Old Tucson" stables

The local RV place Norris RV did some work on our rig last time we were here and I was impressed, so we called by to talk about our current maintenance list. Unfortunately they don't do the mechanical work we need but we did make an appointment for them to replace the awning that got torn up by the wind one the way here.

They recommended a company called Whitfield Auto for our mechanical work.

First on the list was the brakes which have been grinding lately. It sounded like it was coming from the front right. When they took it apart it was the rear right that was grinding and the brake rotor was completely torn up. A full brake service was required and we ended up with new rear calipers and rotors and new front pads. Not cheap but we should be good for several years now.

While they were underneath they replaced the fuel filler hose that had been leaking. 

We have a plan with them to do the rest of the work one day at a time so we don't have to stay in a hotel, next week they'll do the coolant hoses and try and find the charging issue we've been having. I can do the Generator service, engine oil change and chassis lube myself.

Hawaii and back

 We rode the trolley into the city and walked to Henry's but found that they don't do it any more. Instead we had a big breakfast at “The Field” an Irish pub nearby.

The Oosterdam

The next big adventure was our cruise to Hawaii on the MV Oosterdam from San Diego. Barbara has always wanted to go on a cruise but I've been reluctant. I have worked on ships all my working life but my secret is that I get seasick every time I sail on one. 

Our RV club the Escapees sent out an e-mail that they were doing a group cruise so I brought it up with Barbara. She thought it sounded like a good idea but I think she was a little puzzled at me wanting to go. I figured that at least we'd have a common interest with our fellow passengers.

A cheeky looking fellow

We sailed on December 2nd and it took 5 days to get to our first port of call in Hilo on the big island of Hawaii. We had a tour booked “Taste of Hawaii” which took us up the Kilauea Volcano. It had stops at a candy factory and a coffee mill, lunch at an art gallery then up into the Volcanoes National Park. We had two guides David and Nate. David was an archaeologist and Nate a High School Science teacher. They really knew their stuff and we were treated to information on the flora and fauna and the geology of the volcanoes. It was a 6 ½ hr tour but went by in no time.

Volcanoes from the outside

And the inside

During the night we traveled to Hilo on the Island of Maui, this time we climbed 9000 feet up Haleakala then to Iao Valley. The driver/guide was a very funny Hawaiian who kept us laughing all day. 

We ended up in Lahaina and had a few hours cruising the very tourist town that had once been the center of whaling in Hawaii. We watched the sunset from Mick Fleetwood's restaurant in the rooftop bar. A super view and entertainment by the “Mad Piper” who apparently could play anything in any style on bagpipes!.

Some ports needed tenders to get us ashore.

Next came Oahu and the city of Honalulu. We had a secret weapon here. I met a lady on our online art group (Paintbasket.com). MaryAnne lives in the North Shore and has a guest cottage. When I asked if we could meet in person she immediately invited us to stay in her cottage and volunteered to drive us anywhere we wanted to go.

MaryAnne (Left) and Barbara

She took us to a couple of the local art shows. The one at the Hawaiian Country Club had food and drink to go with the art. We met and talked to several of the artists and met up with another Paintbasket member Liz and her husband. They gave us wonderful Leis and a pencil sketching set, such nice people. Back at the cottage MaryAnne and I sat and painted, tried some new art media, talked about our artwork. The time just flew by.

Turtle Beach

Hibiscus

Parrot fish on the grill

Before we left Mary Anne drove us around the North Shore and she showed us some great viewpoints known only to the locals. Barbara has wanted to visit the Arizona Memorial so we went there for an hour before finally returning to the ship. We'll miss MaryAnne, she was such good company. Before we left, her husband Earl gave us one of his turned wooden pieces and MaryAnne gave us a watercolor of the “Chinaman's Hat” Island which she likes to paint.

A great Hawaiian face

Reluctantly we made our way back to the ship and on to Nawiliwili on Kauai.

Anchored out

5 more days at sea tested just about everyone's patience, especially as a few days were quite rough. My sea legs had come back and fortunately I felt fine the whole way, but I did stay out of the theater and other dark confined spaces where I was more likely to feel motion sickness.

The legend says that if you give your Lei to the sea you'll come back to Hawaii.

But then we arrived back in San Diego picked up the car from Ken and Gloria's, the RV from Thousand Trails and headed out for Casa Grande.